Take the calipers off again and remove the pads. Extend the pistons (without pushing them all the way out) and clean them with brake cleaner. You probably have a lot of road spooge buildup on the part of the piston that was exposed and then shoved back into the calipers. That crud will cause the pistons to drag when being pushed in.
You can get to the back side of the pistons, for cleaning all the way around, by rotating them in their bores. There is nothing there to prevent them from turning except the friction of the seals, but that can be significant. Try sticking some expanding pliers (I use circlip pliers) inside the hollow pistons to help grab them to turn.
When the pistons are all cleaned up, the way that they should behave is that you should be able to push them into the calipers fully (watch out for fluid overflow at the reservoir) Then, after you use the lever to move the pistons out a little, when you release the lever you should see the piston retract ever so slightly. This is the action of the seal pulling the piston back in. That retraction is key in preventing brake drag.
Hope that helps